Sodexo, world leader in Quality of Life Services, has received a top ranking of nine out of nine from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on its Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard, a ranking that assesses the progress of companies on the commitments and actions necessary to be a responsible user of palm oil.

Sodexo’s score is a reflection of the company’s undertaking to actionably improve its practices regarding sourcing sustainable palm oil and in raising awareness internally, within the supplier community, its sourcing teams and with clients and customers about the importance of sourcing certified sustainably produced palm oil.

Neil Barrett, Sodexo Group SVP Sustainable Development said: “The need for sustainable practices in the palm oil industry has become increasingly urgent, especially considering the devastation in Indonesia this past year due to toxic haze that has been linked to palm oil and paper production. Raising environmental standards across the entire global supply chain is both an economic and ethical responsibility. At Sodexo, we select and source products that support the development of a sustainable palm oil industry and work with suppliers and producers that share the same level of commitment to conducting business responsibly."

Recognizing the role that palm oil production plays in supporting millions of livelihoods, Sodexo has committed to actively support the development of a sustainable palm oil industry by increasing its use of certified sustainable palm oil. Our plan includes selecting products that support the development of a sustainable palm oil industry in all the countries where we operate and working with our suppliers to source sustainable palm oil in the products that we buy from them wherever possible. Where we are not able to source sustainable palm oil, we purchase GreenPalm certificates to reward palm producers for working in a sustainable and responsible way. We seek to reduce our recourse to.Greenpalm certificates every year by increasing our sourcing of physical certified sustainable palm oil.

* GreenPalm is a certificate trading program, endorsed by the non-profit Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), designed to address the environmental and social problems created by the production of palm oil.